As many offices and factory floors sit empty during the pandemic, the picture of these human-free facilities makes it easy to imagine those spaces filling up with robotic replacements.
If that were to happen, it's not clear when: Some reports claim that up to half of all jobs in the U.S. are at risk of being automated, and the pivot might come in just a few years or decades from now. But when thinking about the risks of increasing automation, some researchers think there should be less of a focus on what jobs are lost — and more emphasis placed on what happens to those who aren't prepared for the change.